10 years of rewarding food industry excellence at Verner Wheelock
Food industry training expert Verner Wheelock has just announced the winners of its annual Excellence Awards. The business, celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, is the training company of choice for numerous well-known food manufacturers and has trained thousands of delegates over the years.
The Verner Wheelock Excellence Awards, launched 10 years ago, recognise outstanding delegates and companies dedicated to training excellence and ethical excellence. The winners are selected from a shortlist of nominations by Verner Wheelock trainers, auditors and staff. Outstanding delegates are identified during open and in-house courses throughout the previous year.
There are six categories: Students of the Year in HACCP, Food Safety and Auditing, Company Excellence, Ethical Excellence and Individual Excellence.
The winners are:
- Food Safety Student of the Year 2024 – Gary Johnson, Morrisons Convenience
- HACCP Student of the Year 2024 – Daniel Jarman, Tyrell’s Crisps (KP Snacks)
- Auditing Student of the Year 2024 – Katherine Cook, Baxters Ltd
- Individual Excellence Award 2024 – Paul Cartwright, Forza Foods Ltd
- Company Excellence Award 2024 – Encirc
- Ethical Excellence Award 2024 – ESG Drysdale
In addition to their trophies and certificates, all winners receive vouchers against future training with Verner Wheelock.
The delegates winning Student of the Year awards all achieved standout results in either RSPH Level 4 Food Safety & Hygiene, RSPH Level 4 HACCP or FDQ Lead Auditor and demonstrated a passion and aptitude for the subjects during training.
Gary Johnston, Regional Technical Manager for Morrisons Convenience said on receiving his award,
“I found the Level 4 Food Safety course both informative and engaging and it provided excellent preparation for the exams that followed. I’m pleased to have been able utilise the in-depth knowledge that I have gained from my studies in my day-to-day job role, and I’m both grateful and proud that my efforts have been recognised by Verner Wheelock.”
Auditing Student of the Year, Katherine Cook, Fochabers Quality Manager at Baxters added, “I am thrilled to win this award! The Lead Auditor course by Verner Wheelock was a great interactive course, with an excellent trainer and training colleagues from around the food industry. I have taken part in a number of training courses run by Verner Wheelock, and they are always of a high standard, in terms of the trainer, content and course material provided.”
Ethical Excellence Award winners, ESG Drysdale, were selected as they had shown the best improvement, having completed their SMETA audit without any no-conformances being raised. Health, Safety and Ethical Manager, Arthur Reynolds, was delighted to win and commented, “This recognition reaffirms our commitment to maintaining strong ethical and social standards, which are at the heart of everything we do.
The semi-announced SMETA audits we undergo with Verner Wheelock are rigorous and highly constructive. We are proud to have achieved zero non-conformances in 2024, a testament to our supportive culture and dedication to continuous improvement. VWA’s professional approach not only ensures compliance but also encourages us to set even higher standards. We are thrilled to have this award as a reflection of our work.”
Encirc employees have attended a variety of open and in-house courses with Verner Wheelock, including Level 3 HACCP, Auditing Skills, Legal Labelling and Product Authenticity & Food Defence and have achieved excellent exam results. Their strong commitment to training is the reason that they have been awarded the Verner Wheelock Company Excellence Award 2024.
Charlotte Hughes, Professional Development Specialist at Encirc said, “We are privileged to win the Company Excellence award, and we look forward to continuing our fantastic working relationship with everyone at Verner Wheelock.’’